Locations, areas and live tracking

Display and data sheet of locations

On the lower "Places" panel of the main page, switch on the desired location category. Tapping on a marker opens data and actions for that location. The content may differ depending on the source: name, description, coordinates, contact information, external link or special data may appear.

From the data window - where the point type supports it - you can start navigation, add a route point, track point or monitored point. A visit can also be recorded for some attractions; service points and radio locations are not all accessible categories.

Location categories and their download locations

The table describes the categories in the current code; downloading a database and turning on the map is a separate operation. The data sheet can only show the details actually included in the source.

Status and update of public wells

Access: "Settings → közkutak.hu". The page shows the last update and the amount of data, as well as manual update and local data deletion. Auto-update at startup, Wi-Fi limit, expiration warning, and showing discontinued locations can also be set.

In addition to the type, comment and coordinates, the data window of the water intake point on the map can indicate if the water is not drinkable, the place is not working or the data is waiting for moderation. The marker itself is not a statement about the current potability of the water; also read the status indicators of the data window.

heyjoe.hu, POIs and nature conservation databases

On the "Settings → heyjoe.hu" page, you can update or delete the local data of forest visitation restrictions, bivouacs, accommodation and large trees by data group. On the "Settings → POIs" page, additional locations and sealing locations can be managed by category. SOTA/POTA has its own database at "Radio points".

The page "Nature conservation data" manages protected and highly protected areas. Categories have their own update and delete buttons; automatic update and data age warning can be controlled on the corresponding page.

Deleting the local database may stop displaying that content offline. The panel category switch "Places" is for display; deactivating a category is not the same as deleting its data.

Area warning on the map

Based on the available location data and downloaded area boundaries, the app can indicate if you are near, on the border of, or inside a forest visit restriction or a highly protected area. In the foreground, the map warning bar can work independently of the background notification switch and the visibility of the area layer.

The bar shows the name of the area and the status, in the case of outdated data, it can also warn about the age of the data. You can direct the map to the affected area by tapping on it. The signal works from the local database and GPS data; non-continuous live official control.

Background area notifications

Access: "Settings → Alerts → Area alerts". The switches "Forest access restriction" and "Strictly protected area" turn on background monitoring and notification. The warning distance from the border can be set between 50 and 1000 meters, and a separate sound can be selected.

Background signaling requires location permission, background access and notification permission. Deactivating the warning switch does not necessarily remove the map bar visible in the foreground: foreground indication and background monitoring are separate functions. In the background the position is updated sparingly (not while standing still, on Android at most every 10 seconds), so the alert may arrive a few seconds later.

When loading a route or trail, a crossing warning may appear based on the area data, with the option of displaying the area on a map.

SOTA/POTA data and call sign

Access: "Settings → Radio points". Enter your call sign, then start synchronizing your activations. The interface shows the last sync, activation numbers and source errors. The app handles the call sign in capital letters, but does not verify that the call sign belongs to you.

The synchronization frequency can be 6 or 12 hours, daily, three days or weekly. The SOTA and POTA location database can be updated and deleted separately. Retrieving callsign activations and downloading the points database updates different data.

No Geoládák cloud storage login is required to view radio activations. There is no "Visiting" button for radio locations: the fulfillment comes from the activation register of the external program.

Map marking and collection of radio points

On the page "Places → My collections", turn on the category "Radio summits (SOTA)" or "Radio parks (POTA)". The app manages the data of Hungarian points. SOTA is not the same as the generic "Peaks".

Your own activation is shown by the marker's small radio signal disk: yellow is this year's SOTA or already activated POTA point, cyan blue is the SOTA peak activated in the previous year, which has not yet been completed this year. Without a disk, there is no marked own activation. This personal sign is not necessarily visible on a grouped marker.

In the data window of the point, the identifier, point value and height for SOTA, locator, region, external data sheet and available activation data are displayed for POTA. In the case of a POTA park marking a hiking trail section, the marker may indicate a reference point, not the extent of the entire park.

On the "My collections" page of the Profile, the radio progress consists of the number of different activated points. A list of activated locations can be opened and points can be moved to the map. The "Peak Wave" and "Green Wave" badges are associated with this activation progress.

Live tracking

Open “Live tracking” in the main menu and choose “Start new tracking” or “Join with code”. Sign in to your cloud-storage account; you can continue afterward and the entered join code is kept. For a new session enter a tracking name of up to 60 characters, your display name and a colour. Joining also requires the six-letter code. The app enters the code in capitals. If the code is wrong, or the session has ended meanwhile, the app says so and you need a new code from the organiser.

By default participants see only themselves; other people’s trails and the viewer link are off. The creator can change the name, visibility, trails and viewer-link settings in “Tracking settings”, and pause sharing for everyone. They can grant management access to another participant and export each participant’s stored trail as GPX or GeoJSON. The link can be copied or replaced; generating a new link invalidates the old one. “End tracking” asks for confirmation: afterwards everyone’s sharing stops, the code and viewer link stop working, an ended session cannot be restarted, but its trails can still be downloaded on the “Earlier” tab. With “Only themselves” visibility the trail switch is called “Trails on the viewer link”: participants see only their own trail, and the switch decides whether the viewer link shows everyone’s.

You can be a member of one tracking at a time; you can start a new one only after leaving. After creating or joining, position sharing switches on, both in the app and in the browser. You can switch it off at any time with the “Share my location” switch. One account shares from one device at a time: if you switch it on on your other device, the previous one stops, and if you rejoin with the code while already a participant, sharing does not switch on by itself. Points and trails are shown by the “Live tracking” layer of the main map; it can be switched on and off among the overlay layers. The Participants list follows the same visibility as the map: with “Only themselves” you see only your own row. You can filter the list by name; this does not filter the map. Leaving the page does not stop sharing; to do so, switch it off or choose “Leave tracking”. Creating, joining and managing need an internet connection. Leaving asks for confirmation; afterwards others no longer see your location, your trail so far stays in the session (whoever could see it still can, and the organiser can export it), and you can rejoin later with the code. Tracking belongs to the account, not the device: only one device per account can share at a time, so several devices on the same account cannot be tracked together (each needs its own account).

When you are not a member of a running session, the “Earlier” tab of the “Live tracking” page lists all your tracking sessions — also ended ones and those you left — with name, date and status. From there you can always download your own trail as GPX or GeoJSON; as a manager (if you did not leave), any participant’s, also after the end.

If no fresh position has arrived from anyone in a tracking session for 24 hours (and it was not just created), the session ends automatically: the join code and viewer link stop working, sharing turns off, and the stored trails are kept. You can then start a new session. Points recorded without signal are added to the trail once the connection returns, even if the session ended meanwhile.

When you turn sharing on, other participants and viewer-link holders can see your position and trail according to the tracking settings. You can turn sharing off at any time.

Viewing tracking with a viewer link

You can open the received https://geoladak.hu/live/… viewer link in a browser; it appears on the main map, also after reloading. You do not need to sign in or go through the setup wizard. Viewer mode is for viewing only: it does not make you a participant and does not share your position.

The map shows the participants’ names, colours and last known positions. The map refreshes every 15 seconds; in a hidden browser tab it pauses the queries and refreshes immediately when you return. The trail appears only if the tracking settings allow it; it then shows the path the participants actually walked, not just straight lines between refreshes; you can hide it with a separate switch. If trail permission is switched off, the previously loaded line also disappears at the next refresh.

On a temporary connection error the map shows that the refresh failed and tries again. For an invalid, replaced or switched-off link, or an ended tracking, an error message appears on the map and the earlier tracking data disappear. In that case ask the tracking organiser for a working viewer link.

Live tracking: what others see, and what happens without signal?

While “Share my location” is on, the phone sends your location about every 15 seconds (or after 15 metres) and stores a point for your trail about every 30 seconds or 20 metres. It also works with the screen locked and the phone in your pocket.

The other participants see your location on the map almost immediately and – if the tracking settings allow – your trail; the viewer link refreshes every 15 seconds. The trail shows the path you actually walked, not just straight lines between refreshes.

Without signal your location does not update: the others see your last known location with “last seen: hh:mm”. Meanwhile the phone keeps collecting your trail points, and they are not lost, even if you close the app.

When you have signal again, your location updates at once, and the whole stretch without signal appears on the others’ map and on the viewer link within about a minute. No “live” locations are sent afterwards for the missing time; only the trail is filled in.

You can switch sharing on without signal too: collecting points starts at once, and they are uploaded when the signal returns. If you leave the tracking session with your account on another device, the points this phone collected before leaving are still uploaded, later ones are not.

If the organiser pauses the session, your location is not sent meanwhile, but the phone watches for the pause to end and then continues by itself – with the screen locked too. If you stand still, the phone signals about every 2 minutes, so your point does not fade; the “last seen” time shows your latest actual location fix. If you close the app, or the phone stops it, recording pauses until it starts again.

If background location is not running – for example there is no “Always” location access, or GPS is off –, an orange warning appears on the “My sharing” tab. Set location access to “Always”, turn GPS on and open the app again: sending continues by itself.

If no fresh location arrives from anyone in a tracking session for 24 hours – for example everyone is out of signal –, the session ends automatically. The points are still added to the trail and can be downloaded on the “Earlier” tab.

Trails are stored on the server. You can always download your own; the organiser can download everyone’s. Tracking belongs to your account, so you can share from only one device at a time.